Category Archives: Books and Authors

‘Laura’ — Coming on TCM

Posted on May 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

I cut the cord to TCM a few months ago, partly to economize and partly because it repeats a lot of movies for having such a large archive. (What? “Torchy Runs for Mayor” Again??) I haven’t been paying much attention to … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

‘Laura’ — The Making of a Classic Film Noir, Part 3

Posted on May 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m using the May 15 post by Louella Parsons on Rouben Mamoulian being replaced as director of “Laura” to spend some time examining the production of the film noir classic. The previous post was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1922, 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

‘Laura’ — The Making of a Classic Film Noir, Part 2

Posted on May 28, 2014 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, prompted by Louella Parsons’ May 15 post that Rouben Mamoulian had asked to be released as director of “Laura” (later accounts will say that he was fired), I’m looking at the making of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on ‘Laura’ — The Making of a Classic Film Noir, Part 2

Neon Mystery Photo (Updated)

Posted on May 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

Craby Joe’s may be gone, but it lives on in what rock video? (And no, this isn’t “Barfly.”) Answer: The video is … “Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top (1983). Craby Joe’s appears at about the 2:15 mark.

Posted in Books and Authors, Downtown, Mystery Photo | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

‘Laura’ — The Making of a Film Noir Classic, Part 1

Posted on May 27, 2014 by lmharnisch

The May 15, 1944, post by Louella Parsons about Rouben Mamoulian asking to be released as the director of “Laura” made me think that it would be worth taking a closer look at the production of the 20th Century-Fox film, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on ‘Laura’ — The Making of a Film Noir Classic, Part 1

Phlange Welder Lives Again

Posted on May 21, 2014 by lmharnisch

When the Daily Mirror was at latimes.com, I did some digging into the many adventures of “Phlange Welder,” a fictitious name that was slipped into The Times beginning in 1961. The Los Angeles Examiner had its own fictitious person, Victor … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Books From the Slush Pile: ‘Carsick’ by John Waters

Posted on May 21, 2014 by lmharnisch

Rejected review copies molder in bins. Avert thine eyes, aspiring authors! I have a millennial friend who thinks hitchhiking is a fine idea. Having lived through the 1970s, when thumbing a ride was considered cool, I told her about my … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Books From the Slush Pile: ‘The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan’

Posted on May 16, 2014 by lmharnisch

The bins of rejected review copies. Aspiring authors, avert thine eyes! Note: I have been rummaging through the bins of review copies put out for the staff, trying to pick out books that are related in some fashion to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Books From the Slush Pile: ‘The Selected Letters of Elia Kazan’

‘Laura’: The Making of a Classic Film Noir – Adventures in Research

Posted on May 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

Louella Parsons’ May 15, 1944, item on Rouben Mamoulian being replaced as the director of “Laura” has inspired a long detour into the production of the film – beginning with Vera Caspary and her 1942 novel. Given the typical state … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Libraries | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Zodiac: Most Dangerous Animal — Oh Not Again!

Posted on May 14, 2014 by lmharnisch

A “true” crime book that was “written in secret” evokes “Black Dahlia Avenger” and it’s intriguing that “The Most Dangerous Animal of All” treads the same territory as Steve Hodel’s “Most Evil.” In case you don’t recall, retired LAPD Det. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Imagining the Future

Posted on April 26, 2014 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2006. The subject came up today when I was having lunch with Ed Fuentes, so I thought I would repost it. Notice that in this plan, Union Station was to have been … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, Downtown, LAPD, Pasadena, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Imagining the Future

Black Dahlia: A New ‘Suspect’ (Who Isn’t Dr. George Hodel) and a New Dimension in Lunacy

Posted on April 20, 2014 by lmharnisch

Nobody does “true” crime stories quite like the Brits. And the Daily Mail is all over this one. Suppose I told you that Suzanne Degnan (1946), the Black Dahlia (1947), Jimmy Hoffa (disappeared 1975), the Zodiac victims (late 1960s) AND … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Books From the Slush Pile: ‘River of Angels,’ by Alejandro Morales

Posted on April 17, 2014 by lmharnisch

The reject pile! Aspiring authors, avert thine eyes! In case you just tuned in, this is one of the books I retrieved from the piles of review copies put out for the staff. I’m not familiar with Alejandro Morales, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Latinos | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: Lily DuTertre and Wikipedia

Posted on April 15, 2014 by lmharnisch

Unless you prowl the outer fringes of the publishing industry, you may have never heard of Lily DuTertre, who is an avid compiler of “high quality Wikipedia articles” into books. Like this one on unsolved murders, selling for $26.68.

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Books From the Slush Pile: ‘Kitty Genovese’ by Catherine Pelonero

Posted on April 10, 2014 by lmharnisch

The reject pile! Aspiring authors, avert thine eyes! This is a sample of review copies that are cast aside in bins to be rummaged through by the staff. Usually they are contemporary genre fiction (“50 Shades of Stealing Maps for … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: Not for Young Readers

Posted on April 4, 2014 by lmharnisch

Imagine my surprise to find this little gem floating around on the Internet, and I see that I’m a couple of years late. According to Amazon, it’s a 2011 account of the Black Dahlia case for middle school students, although … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

1944 in Print — ‘I Hate Actors’ by Ben Hecht

Posted on April 3, 2014 by lmharnisch

April 1, 1944 This is the article by Ben Hecht mentioned in Sidney Skolsky’s column. If you’re patient, you can dig it out of the files at unz.org. It starts on Page 24 and continues to Page 43 and you’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Books From the Slush Pile: ‘Charlie Chaplin, Director’

Posted on April 2, 2014 by lmharnisch

The reject pile! Aspiring authors, avert thine eyes! This is a sample of review copies that are cast aside in bins to be rummaged through by the staff. Usually they are contemporary genre fiction (“50 Shades of Stealing Maps for … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

March 2014 Reader Survey

Posted on March 29, 2014 by lmharnisch

Here are the results as of Saturday. I’m guessing the figures may change a bit, but not too much.

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Mary Mallory, Radio | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

1944 in Print — Hollywood Gossip by Louella Parsons, March 25, 1944

Posted on March 25, 2014 by lmharnisch

March 25, 1944 HOLLYWOOD, March 24 — The ink was hardly dry on the galley proofs of Mrs. Irving Berlin’s book “The Land I Have Chosen” when Jack Warner bought it. Ellin wrote the book, a story of the American … Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Books and Authors, Columnists, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on 1944 in Print — Hollywood Gossip by Louella Parsons, March 25, 1944